Dan's Media Digest

SATURDAY NIGHT TV

I have fond memories of Saturday Night TV. For decades it was the weekly pinnacle of entertainment on television; an evening's entertainment starting at 7 pm that the whole family could sit down and enjoy together.

These days, with multi-channel TV and the internet vying for our precious leisure time, the humble Saturday Night isn't the national TV experience it once was. There's a generation of kids going to school on Monday mornings and finding they each did something entirely different (which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it's a little sad that the collective TV experience is on the wane...)

However, three shows have spearheaded a modest revival in recent years: The X-Factor, Saturday Night Takeaway and Doctor Who. The X-Factor is a great piece of trash TV; essentially just a singing contest ruthlessly edited for maximum entertainment value. Now in its third year, it may have become slightly jaded and predictable, but it's still fascinating whenever a truly terrible singer is convinced they have real talent.

But, when X-Factor moves out of its riotous "audition phase" into the "boot camp" and "live show" phases, I tend to lose interest. For me, once the auditions are over you're just left with competent singers doing karaoke for months on end. It's then just a tedious sifting process to find the best of the bunch (and even that doesn't guarantee actual success -- eh, Mr Brookstein?)

It's a genre of reality show the UK pioneered with Pop Idol and has subsequently made a fortune selling around the world. Simon Cowell is one of the most successful showbiz figures ever -- simply for voicing an opinion on TV. Nobody seems to care that his pre-reality show career included signing Robson & Jerome and Zig & Zag, or that most of his winners burnout after their successful first single and album.

Then there's Sharon Osbourne, someone who has become a hideous TV irritation to me, not helped by her terrible ITV chat show. Such fake sincerity and mother-hen clucking. Remember her impassioned speeches about standing by her performers come what may? Yeah, right. Where's Tabby now?

No, I reserve the most respect for Louis Walsh, the Irish manager who has actually achieved recognised success with groups such as Boyzone, Westlife and Girls Aloud. He atleast has a track record of some integrity and seems genuine on the show.

Then there's Saturday Night Takeaway -- a modern throwback to live entertaiment hours like Noel's House Party in the early-90s. Presented by Ant & Dec (the two saving graces of ITV, no matter how overexposed they become) the show is a marvel of sound judgement. There's just the right mix of games, pranks, stunts, quizes, hidden cameras, and silliness. It's not revolutionary by any stretch of the imagination, and a good 90% of its success is down to its presenters, but it works brilliantly.

Ant and Dec are consummate performers. I'd never have guessed from their acting days on kids TV show Byker Grove, but they have a natural ease in front of the camera and just bounce off each other brilliantly. Make no mistake, without them SNT would be fairly low-rent stuff, but their presence pushes it into into quality. Who else could get X-Factor's Chico to play human hook-a-duck?

Finally, Doctor Who has proven itself a huge success for the BBC on Saturday nights. While ITV focuses on reality TV for its big hits, the BBC's Saturday nights still include some drama (a new version of Robin Hood is due very soon, and will be reviewed here). Yes, the Beeb are still hobbled by the ridiculous ongoing search for a National Lottery show that is actually worth watching, and beyond Doctor Who they have very little to endear you to a Saturday night in front of the telly. Casualty limps on (no pun intended), and even if Strictly Come Dancing is a ratings winner it's not catering for my demographic in the slightest!

But, the point is that there are a few shows that are tempting audiences back to the TV on Saturdays. I don't think the days of 23 million viewers for Morecambe & Wise, or even 13 million for Noel's House Party, will ever happen again... but there is some decent TV that you shouldn't feel too guilty about watching when everyone else is down the pub!